Clever Broward Provides a Single Sign On for Students and Teachers

by Mostafijur Rahaman

When Tony Casciotta, CIO and VP of IT at Broward College started the search for a new access management platform, he knew that it needed to provide key functionalities.

They needed provisioning and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), self-service password reset, Single Sign-On (SSO), and seamless Workday integration. The previous SSO processes were extremely manual and high-touch, which were error-prone and inefficient for their IT Teams.

Clever Broward

Clever Broward is an innovative educational platform that aims to streamline the learning process for students and teachers. The platform provides a centralized location for students to access their academic materials, while also providing teachers with tools and resources to enhance their teaching practices.

Students in the broward single sign on  Public Schools district can log in to Clever using their school email address and password. This will grant them access to all the features and tools available on the website.

Another way to access Clever is to use a “Clever Badge.” This feature allows students to log in without having to type their username and password. This is a great option for elementary school students who may have trouble logging in.

In order to log in with a badge, you must have a school-provided badge or QR code that you can scan. This will then direct you to your Clever dashboard where you can login to all your educational applications.

One of the most popular features of Clever is its focus on personalized learning. The platform uses data analytics to track student progress and recommend resources based on their specific needs. This helps ensure that each student receives the support they need to achieve their full potential.

The platform is also a great way to promote collaboration between students and teachers. It features an interactive workspace that lets teachers and students collaborate in real time. This feature enables students to ask questions, share ideas, and discuss their assignments.

However, some teachers and students may have concerns about the platform’s privacy and security. It is also susceptible to downtime and slow loading times, which can disrupt classroom activities.

Despite these limitations, Clever Broward is an excellent example of how technology can be harnessed to enhance the educational experience. By combining personalized learning, collaborative tools, and seamless integration with existing systems, the platform is paving the way for a more efficient and engaging approach to learning. As more schools and educational institutions embrace similar technologies, the future of education looks brighter than ever before.

SSO Launchpad

The SSO Launchpad is a website that provides students and teachers with a single sign on to many of Broward’s applications. This makes it easier to find everything that students need in one place and reduces the time they spend entering their usernames and passwords multiple times.

It also allows you to manage your own password from any computer or mobile device using a self-service password reset option. This will help you save time and prevent phishing scams.

To access the SSO Launchpad, you must first register and log in. This process is quick and easy, and you can get started in a few minutes.

You will need a user name and password, which you can get from your instructor or technology liaison officer. You can use your student or worker id, or you can choose to use a different identifier for yourself or your family members.

After registering, you will need to answer a series of security questions to verify your identity. You can save your answers and go back to them later, if needed.

Then, you will need to enter alternate authentication information (also known as strong authentication). This process requires your password and other information, such as your email address or mobile phone number, so that the application can identify your account.

In addition, you will need to set up a personal password for your account and confirm that it matches the password that your instructor or tech will have given you. You can also reset your password from the Launchpad if you ever forget it.

The Broward SSO Launchpad will be accessible from your home and will provide one-stop access to most of the applications that you use daily. It will be more convenient to access from anywhere, and you’ll never have to call the service desk again.

Clever Badges

For many teachers, student logins are one of the most frustrating parts of teaching technology. Instead of spending 15 minutes hunching over their students’ keyboards helping them log in, an entire class can get logged into their learning software within seconds with Clever Badges.

Badges are QR codes that students use to access learning applications. They hold the badge up to a device’s webcam and log in to their learning software with one simple scan.

With Clever Badges, you don’t need to enter passwords again and they sync automatically with PowerSchool information so you can see them in the same place as all other logins and apps. This single sign-on (SSO) feature saves teachers over 100,000 instructional hours last school year!

In addition, students don’t need to know their usernames and passwords because their digital IDs are tied directly to their Clever badges. It’s a powerful way to foster digital citizenship in K-3 classrooms!

Teachers who have started piloting Badges are amazed at the speed with which their students can log in to learning software. They’ve reported students spending less time logging in and more time engaged in academic content!

They also love that it’s fun to decorate their Badges. At Jessamine County Schools, they tape their Badges to student folders and at Warwick Valley CSD, they hang them on a magnet wall!

The Badges also fit naturally into a teacher’s day-to-day work with students. They’re constantly handing out physical items like books, pencils, and tools for arts and crafts – so Badges fit right in with the way teachers do their job.

To avoid losing your Badges, make sure you teach your students how to handle them before they’re used in the classroom. This can be as simple as showing them how to hold up the Badge with their index finger and thumb.

In addition, you should have your media specialists and school site leaders participate in your pilot so they can spread the word about the tool to their colleagues. You can also start small and choose one or two elementary school sites to initiate your Badges pilot.

Self-Service Password Reset

Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) is a powerful feature in Microsoft 365 that enables users to reset their passwords without help from the IT help desk. This increases productivity and reduces service support calls, helping to lower the costs of a help desk.

SSPR uses strong authentication to verify users when they request password changes. This helps to protect the identity of the user and the business from social engineering attacks and hacking.

It also improves password security by reducing the number of shared passwords in use across the enterprise. It also allows users to set up their own authentication methods and re-enable them whenever they need to.

A good SSPR solution will offer password synchronization so that passwords are automatically updated on other systems such as Google, Azure AD, Linux, LDAP. This can reduce the need for users to remember multiple passwords and can prevent the dreaded password-related requests for help, which is one of the most common demands on service desk resources.

LogonBox cloud enables you to deploy your self-service password reset application in AWS, Google cloud or on-premises on VMWare ESXi or Hyper-V with no installation required. This saves time and resource for the MSP and gives you the peace of mind that your password self-service solution is running securely in the cloud.

In addition, SSPR features a single click login function which enables users to access their accounts through a portal and perform their resets there instead of having to call the help desk. This is a real game changer and can be a significant improvement to the end-user experience.

Another great feature is manager approval, which enables managers and trusted colleagues to approve a user’s password reset. This can make it much more secure and can be a real benefit to the business.

Many password self-service products have moved on from the basic password reset and unlock functionality to integrate with identity management, single sign-on, documentation management and more. LogonBox is a leading example of this. It has multifactor authentication, account unlocks and password synchronization capabilities to give businesses the ability to eliminate password reset tickets and increase productivity.